ART OF INVISIBILITY IN CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNIíS MISTRESS OF SPECIES

Author(s):

G.RUBA

Keywords:

Ecocriticism, Ecofeminism, myth, Woman and Nature, and Spices

Abstract

Nature is Godís precious gift to man. The Life of the human beings is highly interlinked with their environment. Literature which deals with nature is called as green literature. Ecocriticism brings connectivity to nature, literature and human life. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is one of the renowned diasporic writers. Her debut novel The Mistress of Spices is filled with environmental imageries. Spices in the novel are also personified to display its inevitable role in the novel. It is about the magical properties of spices and the relationship between spices and human beings. The writer has employed a lot of natural elements in the novel gives vivid descriptions. This paper studies the effects of spices, the role of nature and environment in the novel The Mistress of Spices from an ecocritical perspective.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has characterized the lifless spices as living characters in her novel. The Mistress of spices the Indo American Woman writer Divakaruni has given metaphorical representation to the Indian spices in order to touch upon the knowledge beyond science. It also depicts the representation of different myths, magic and history, related to spices. It also evaluates the importance of spices in Socio-Cultural perspective in the life of protagonist. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has been able to produce the better meaning of the text and context by characterizing the spices as non-human beings.